Peace of Mind Organizing

Getting to Inbox Zero (again)

4 March 2026

I tend to consider myself someone who’s good about staying on top of email. (I’ve certainly blogged about it enough.) But in 2026, I’ve let the email in my peaceofmindorganizing.com email inbox pile up. (I use an iCloud address for shopping and other personal things and I don’t mind that it’s always voluminous.) I think part of the problem is that I’m doing a bunch of administrative work around implementing a new costumer relationship management system for the business and my brain is fried by the end of the day. And then, of course, the bulging email box feels overwhelming.

But today I decided to get serious about it.

I wrote on my task list, “Spend 30 minutes on email.” I started the day with 331 emails, 165 of which were unread. My goal was that by the end of the 30 minutes, I’d have fewer than 20 emails in there. (I read and process my email in my MacBook’s email client.)

Here’s how it went:

• I set a timer for eight minutes. Then I sorted my messages by sender. That allowed me to do some bulk deletes, like the many-times-a-day emails I am sent by the Washington Post. I’m not great about deleting those in real time. So in my first eight minutes, I deleted a ton of messages pretty easily. At the end of those eight minutes, I had 131 messages left, 29 of the unread.

• I set a timer for four minutes and continued going through my inbox. I deleted and archived a lot of messages. At the end of the four minutes, I had 47 messages, none of them unread.

• A little while later, I tried again, setting my timer for four minutes. By then, some emails had come in, so my starting point had gone up to 52 messages. These messages were tougher—they actually required some effort. They either needed a response or they served as reminders for actions I needed to take. So I only whittled my box down by 6 messages in that four-minute burst, to 46 messages. (But I got stuff done that had been languishing!)

• I stepped away for a few hours and when I came back, I set my timer for 10 minutes. (I forgot to look at the new starting point.) At the end of the 10 minutes, I was down to 21 messages.

You may recall that my goal had been 20 messages so I almost stopped there. But 21 isn’t 20 and I decided to spend a little more time and close to zero I could get it.

I didn’t set a timer and I don’t know how long it took (maybe 15 minutes?), but I got my inbox down to ZERO messages! Break out the champagne! Now that I’m at ground zero it will be so much easier to keep up.

To recap, in 26 minutes of focused effort today, I reduced my inbox from 331 messages to 21 messages.

And then I went ahead got rid of the rest.

For me, the real key to dealing with accumulated emails is sorting by sender because it makes it so easy to bulk delete or archive messages. And of course this is a great opportunity to unsubscribe from newsletters that you don’t read. I did some of that too.

I don’t think Inbox Zero as a daily practice is sustainable for 2026 me. I did it for months back in 2011 and maybe I’ll surprise myself. In any case, I’m hopeful that the effort I made today will motivate me to at least delete the low-hanging fruit every day.

Compensating for a fading memory

23 February 2026

I miss my excellent memory. When I was in my twenties, I had a mind like a steel trap. Oh, the things I could keep in there and recall in a nanosecond! It made me a valuable employee and my ability to keep details straight and handle logistics well allowed me to work on some great projects. For example, I organized—and attended—a small conference in Kenya with participants from all over the world. I organized it from my office in Washington, D.C.. And I did it without the internet. It boggles my mind.

I was 42 when I started Peace of Mind Organizing in 2005 and now I’m 63. Believe me when I tell you that I’ve had to come up with ways to compensate over the years for the fact I’m not able hold a zillion facts in brain like I used to. So what do I do? I ease the stress on my brain by not even trying to remember.

Here are some of the tools I use instead of relying on my memory:

• I’d be lost without my Bullet Journal. I keep task lists and chronological notes about everything in it. And I update an index in the front of each journal every week to make it easy to find my notes.
• For money-related questions (like “what did I pay for that thing?” or “did I really subscribe to that app?”) I can count on YNAB the amazing spending app that I update daily. FYI, that’s a referral link; if you click on it and end up subscribing, we’ll each get a free month added to our description.
• I put all my appointments in my electronic calendar on my Mac (which syncs with my iPhone). I can’t even imagine trying to keep track of my schedule in my head!
• I find myself consulting emails and text threads to remind myself of communications. It’s one reason I prefer email or text to the phone—it means I don’t have to rely on my memory of a conversation.
• I set alarms a lot on my phone. For me, alarms have more impact than reminders. If I need to reach out to somebody in an hour (or in a few minutes), I will set an alarm (with an appropriate label) rather than just try to remember. My husband and I drive an electric car and there are only two chargers in our apartment building. So it’s important for us to move the car from the charger in a timely manner. The alarm is a life saver!

At 63 though I’ve become more forgetful, I’m still going strong. Thanks to these tools, I’m doing great. I’m not going to lie: I do miss the amazing memory I used to have. But I also cut myself a lot of slack. I’ve earned the right to ease up on my brain and be kind to my mind!

My latest productivity boon: The Big Three

15 February 2026

These days my team members work with clients while I run the business (and do YNAB coaching). That means I have a lot of time at my desk and a very long to-do list. Over the last (gulp) 30 years of self employment I have gotten better at being self motivated and productive. (When I was a writer from 1995 to 2005 I turned procrastination into an art form.)

A few months back (on September 9, 2025, to be precise), I started coming up with three tasks that I wanted to accomplish before lunch. The header for that list of tasks is Big Three. I make them the first entry for the day in my Bullet Journal. I try to come up with the three items before I go to bed at night. Then, once I’m at my desk in the morning I have a clear roadmap for what I need to do.

It’s been a game changer for my productivity and for making sure the urgent items are accomplished. I try to include at least one non-urgent but important item in there as well.

More than that, my Big Three practice frees my mind of the pesky, “What should I work on?” question. And it helps me get right to work after I get back from walking Bix rather than, say, checking out Facebook.

I leafed through two Bullet Journals to figure out what day I started doing this and noticed that, in the first month or so, there were quite a few days where I didn’t list a Big Three. It clearly took me awhile to get into the habit and remember to come up with it. Now it’s ingrained (though I give myself the weekend off).

The Big Three practice coupled with the habit of clearing off my desk at the end of the work day (something that’s so easy to do if I do it every day) make my work day so much more pleasant. If you’d like to improve your productivity, you might give it a try!

Meet my newest employee!

6 February 2026

I am excited to introduce you to the newest member of the Peace of Mind Organizing team: Jen Schroer.

Jen joined us last month as an Assistant Organizer, and I think she’s going to be a great addition to the team. She’s calm, compassionate and non-judgmental. And she’s a hard worker. She’ll be working alongside Beth and Lydia as an integral team member.

Jen has a background as a nurse and a wellness coach and she has an abiding love for organizing. She’s great at listening and helping people break overwhelming situations into manageable steps. That’s so important in our work, because organizing goes way beyond the physical stuff. It’s about helping people feel less stressed in their own homes.

Jen is a big believer in outer order, inner calm (shout out to Gretchen Rubin!), and she loves seeing how a more organized space can help someone feel lighter and more at ease. She’s particularly drawn to organizing the spaces where daily routines happen, like kitchens and bathrooms, because small changes there can make a big difference.

I asked Jen for a small change she likes to make in a kitchen or bathroom that has big impact. She said she loves wrapping boxes in fun contact paper and using them to store items—especially in open cabinets—because it keeps things tidy and also stylish. I love how that turns everyday storage into something that feels intentional.

A few fun facts: Jen moved to St. Louis from Overland Park, Kansas when she was just six months old. She’s a world traveler and a homebody wrapped into one package and is always dreaming about the next vacation. She lived in New Zealand for a year, has enjoyed a sailing trip in the USVI/BVI, and checked Greece off her bucket list last year. Next up on her wish list: Switzerland, Iceland, and Croatia (and honestly, I bet there aren’t many places she wouldn’t like to go!).

Jen shares her life with her husband and her beloved dog, Emmy, a husky/pitbull mix. Emmy’s favorite toy is Pinky. She carries Pinky around at all times, just in case someone might play catch. Jen says it’s the only toy Emmy hasn’t destroyed.

Jen says, I meet people where they are with no judgment, no pressure. Life gets busy and seasons change. My goal is simply to help things feel easier and more peaceful. I love helping clients see possibility where they used to feel stress and make big tasks feel less intimidating.

Jen is going to make a great addition to the team and I’m so happy to have her. If you’d like to learn more about Jen (and Beth and Lydia), you can visit our Meet the Team page.

Worth repeating: My perfect Bullet Journal pen

26 January 2026

Today I was setting up a new Bullet Journal and started thinking about how much I love the Pilot Frixion Synergy 05 clicker erasable pen. I absolutely love that I can write with a pen without worrying about making mistakes. And I love the quality of the writing experience. I’ve been using them for more than two years and in March 2024 I wrote about why I love them. Since my love is still going strong, I want to share again. Here’s that post.

I have been using a Bullet Journal to keep track of everything in my life since December 2021. I’m on my 13th handwritten journal. (I love B5 size dot grid journals. My current favorite is from Scribbles That Matter 120 GSM Dotted Journal – Pro.)

I like making my Bullet Journals pretty without going overboard. I tend to write with a black pen but use a lot of Zebra Mildliner highlighters (I use both brush and chisel points) and Sharpie S-Note Duo for color when I need it. (Check out this October 2022 post about my bullet journals for more details on how I journal.)

After careful trial and error, I have found what for me is the perfect black pen for bullet journaling. It is the Pilot Frixion Synergy 05 clicker erasable pen with black gel ink. There’s so much to love: It’s an extra-fine point pen that writes smoothly. It’s completely erasable—it uses a special thermosensitive ink that disappears when rubbed with the pen’s “eraser” because of the heat generated by the friction. (There’s no eraser dust!) This pen comes in colors, though I primarily use black. And it’s refillable.

I go through a lot of these pens and on Amazon I buy this set, which comes with refills

Pilot has a variety of Frixion pens, including erasable highlighters. I have some, but I find they don’t erase completely and seem to leave a little bit of a residue. I’ve also enjoyed this set of Pilot Frixion Waai retractable pens from Japan that come in pretty, soft colors. I bought them at JetPens, my favorite purveyor of Japanese stationery supplies.

One thing worthy of note is that since the Frixion ink is thermosensitive it could disappear if exposed to high heat (like in a hot car). The JetPens website says that putting the paper in a freezer will magically bring back the ink. I’m glad to say I have no personal experience with this. I do avoid using this pen to address envelopes.

My quest for the perfect pen for bullet journaling ended when I found this particular Frixion pen (the Synergy 05 clicker), which glides nicely over the page and erases without any dust. I just had to share with other pen-and-paper enthusiasts!

My very first post on perfectionism

15 January 2026

Back on June 23, 2007, I wrote a post about perfectionism. It was fun to read it today, 18.5 years later. I had no way of knowing that 11 years after writing that post I would end up co-hosting a podcast on the topic. After a two-year hiatus, Getting to Good Enough is back and going strong. (A new episode dropped today!) Even though I was a relatively new organizer when I wrote this post, I think it’s insightful and I stand behind every word. If the post resonates with you, I encourage you to check out the podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can subscribe at the bottom of the website, if you’d like, to have new episodes land in your email inbox.

I’m a Virgo. Well, actually, I was born on the cusp of Libra, but I’ve always identified myself as being a Virgo. Many professional organizers happen to be Virgos. If you’re in a room of professional organizers and you ask the Virgos to raise their hands, you’ll see a sea of raised hands. Most Virgos are perfectionists. Not me, though. I’m actually a “good enough” person. But many of my clients (Virgos or not) are perfectionists.

At first glance, it would seem odd that a disoriganized person would be a perfectionist. Wouldn’t a perfectionist insist on order? The trouble is that many perfectionists want to make sure they do everything right. They don’t want to get started decluttering until they know exactly how they’re going to do it. And exactly what systems will be in place to prevent the clutter from reappearing. And while they wait for the perfect plan or system to appear, clutter continues to accumulate. And then overwhelm sets in.

I try to encourage my clients to be “organized enough.” To me, that means you can find what you need when you need it. That even if a room gets messy, you can get it back in order fairly quickly.

Take, for example, storing your keys to avoid a mad key search every morning. Keys don’t have to be stored on neatly labeled hooks that would make Martha Stewart proud. They can be tossed into a bowl by the door. If you toss them into that bowl as a matter or routine and if you know to look in that bowl for your keys when you’re on the way out the door, then in my book you’re organized. And that’s a beautiful thing, even if the bowl isn’t (though it could be). Best of all, it’s fairly easy to attain.

The trouble comes when you don’t want to create a place to store your keys until you have just the right key rack. Or you don’t want to get started because your labelmaker is out of tape (or you can’t find it). Or maybe you don’t have the perfect screws to affix the key rack to the wall.

If you’re a perfectionist and you find that’s paralyzing your organizing efforts, I encourage you to let go of the perfectionism and embrace the concept of “organized enough.” Take imperfect steps toward getting organized and before you know it, you’ll have made progress that will make your life easier. Just get started!

Get 30% off Elfa at The Container Store until February 16

13 January 2026

This year they've partnered with Queer Eye's Tan France!

It’s Elfa sale time! Between now and February 16, all Elfa at the Container Store is 30 percent off.

I love the Elfa system of closet solutions and drawers. I use lots of it in my home and recommend it to clients all the time. The extra-narrow cabinet-depth drawer drawer systems, for example, are game changers for under the bathroom sink!

I use Elfa in my own home, in a closet in my office in my old home and to store my yarn stash in my apartment. I also have a single bank of drawers in a closet to handle some kitchen overflow. I love my Elfa file cart, which I have repurposed into a three-drawer unit on wheels. It lives under my desk and stores all my Bullet Journal supplies as well as a few other office supplies.

I’ve been using and recommending Elfa for 18 years and the quality has remained consistent, I’m happy to say! Now’s a great time to buy some. If you need design help, they have planning tools on their website or, if you’re close to a store, you can make an appointment to work with one of their designers at no charge.